Random musings on life, death and technology

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Slight setback, update

In the end the RMO decided that he didn’t want to put me on an IV line for fluids as I wasn’t showing sufficient signs of dehydration by the time he did his final assessment of me. So I escaped the dreaded cannular.

However, I was up almost the entire night visiting the toilet again, which was not the desired outcome. My surgeon still assures me that this is pretty normal for this procedure (though he describes it as being at the more extreme end of the scale for this stage of the treatment) but clearly wants to help me through this sooner rather than later. To that end I had another X-ray this morning, looking for any physical signs of problems in the bowel, blood tests for my electrolyte levels, and a drink of FibreGel. The x-ray was negative, the blood work is being done now, and I’ve just drunk the FibreGel, which is designed to “bulk me up”. Time will tell if this helps or not.

At the moment we are planning to make a discharge decision at 4pm, but in my heart of hearts, I suspect that I’m unlikely to be released today. This is frustrating, as my elder daughters have their confirmation services in church tomorrow morning, which I’m now increasingly likely to miss. However, it can’t be helped, and apart from me, all their family and god-parents will be there to support them. I suspect most will have cameras too, so I’ll probably be able to catch the edited highlights at least!

Update: The 4pm meeting was a bit of a watershed in the end. It turns out that there is now nothing wrong with me now that won’t fix (as much as it can be) with the passage of time. My surgeon has checked for any abnormal circumstances (there aren’t any) and is giving me all the interventions that are recommended for my situation, so there is basically nothing more that he can do other than wait for me to respond to those interventions in due course. Whether we wait for that to happen in the hospital, or allow me home to wait there makes little practical difference. So as he is satisfied that I can cope at home, he’s perfectly happy to discharge me tonight.